Sportsnaut
Just two weeks into their season, the Minnesota Vikings‘ plans for the season went out the window with J.J. McCarthy‘s injury. While McCarthy’s ankle sprain is only expected to keep him out of action for the next two to four weeks, it steals some valuable time away from a 22-year-old who’s biggest drawback is a lack of experience.
The next man up is Carson Wentz, a former No. 2 overall pick who may be able to enjoy a bit of a late career renaissance under Kevin O’Connell, with Justin Jefferson’s help, of course. But after Wentz? The Vikings only have an undrafted rookie, Max Brosmer, meaning this QB room lacks experience and the guidance of a veteran.
On Tuesday, the Vikings sprinkled another QB into the mix, by signing Desmond Ridder to the active roster. The 2022 third-round pick interestingly spent time with the Vikings’ Week 3 opponent (Cincinnati Bengals) all throughout training camp and preseason play before trimming the team from 90 down to 53 players.
In addition to potentially giving the Vikings’ defense some valuable information about the Bengals’ protection calls and hot reads, Ridder brings 18 starts of experience to the QB room, which is a lot more than Brosmer offers.
Ridder, 26, has previously started for the Atlanta Falcons (who drafted him) and the Las Vegas Raiders. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback has a career win-loss record of 8-10 with 4,002 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
The Vikings may prefer to have Ridder active on gameday due to his added experience over Brosmer; however, with roughly four days to learn the offense, that may not be enough time to get caught up to speed.
With other teams like the Bengals, Commanders, Jets, and 49ers also suffering injuries to the QB position, Ridder may have had a number of opportunities emerge this week. Evidently, he chose to land with the Vikings, as Daniel Jones did last season. Now he’s a starting quarterback again. Perhaps Ridder can use his time with the Vikings as a career springboard too.
Related: 2025 NFL QB Rankings: Where Did J.J. McCarthy Rank?
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